Hidden Talents: Before he became a lacrosse coach and math teacher, Belderes won Olympic volleyball gold

By Margaret Bass 
Dean of Students Belderes stands by the bench of the Muscaro Gym court, stretching his arms and preparing for the Student vs. Faculty volleyball game. He agreed to participate in this annual event for the fun of it, but nobody was expecting what he was about to do. TWEET. Head of School Armistead Lemon blows her whistle to announce the start of the game. The ball is served by senior Julia Corliss over the net onto the faculty’s side of the net. Latin teacher Dr. Finney receives the ball and sends it out of bounds. The students in the stands cheer for their peers and the faculty on the court huddle up to discuss their plans. 
“I have an idea,” says Belderes. He whispers his plan to his team and they reposition themselves on the court. Corliss serves again, but this time the ball is received by volleyball coach Emily Gaston. She sends the ball to Mrs. Sprouse who sets it high into the air. The cheers in the room seem to go silent as Belderes approaches the ball. He launches into the air with an unmatched vertical jump of three feet and slams the ball on the 10 foot line on the senior’s side of the court.
For a moment everything is quiet. Everyone is taking in what they have just witnessed. Then, every single person in the room, faculty, staff, students and referees cheer for Belderes and his incredible attack. The game continues and the game begins to become a real competition. Neither team ever gains a big lead over the other, and the game ends with a score of 25-17 with faculty taking the win. 
After the game, the senior team walks over to Belderes with looks of awe on their faces. They tell him, “Mr. B we didn’t know you were so good at volleyball!” He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. 
“I haven’t always been a teacher you know,” he responds and then walks out of the gym like nothing had happened. The students are shocked. What was he before he was a teacher? They all wonder. Later that night Corliss is thinking about what Belderes had said. She decides to do some research. For hours she scrolls on her laptop through photos and articles about men’s volleyball teams from the years before Belderes began teaching. Finally, she sees something that catches her eye. She opens an article posted by U.S. Volleyball’s official page on Instagram and sees a picture of the men’s team from 2000. Standing front row center is Stephen Belderes holding a volleyball. The caption reads - “U.S. Men’s Volleyball team wins Gold at Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with the final point earned by Stephen Belderes #21 with incredible attack as Outside Hitter.”

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